Tim Sykes

Timothy Sykes, author of the book, An American Hedge Fund, was born in Orange, Connecticut in 1981. He studied Philosophy and Business at TulaneUniversity while turning his $12,415 Bar Mitzvah Gift money into a fully audited pre-tax sum of $1.65 million from 1999 to 2002 before founding his hedge fund, Cilantro Fund Management, LLC in 2003. He went on to graduate with a B.A. in Philosophy from Tulane in 2003. He is also the benefactor of a Tulane University Scholarship, The Timothy Sykes Day Trading Award for the Talented that is awarded annually to any deserving Tulane student, faculty, or alumni. In 2006, Timothy's hedge fund was ranked the #1 Short-Bias Fund by Barclays for 2003-2006 and he was named to Trader Monthly's 2006 'Top 30 under 30,' a list recognizing the top 30 investment professionals under the age of 30.

After suffering a roughly 35% loss over the course of two years, on October 1, 2007, Timothy closed his hedge fund and started a publishing company, BullShip Press, LLC to tell his inspirational yet cautionary story and promote Freedom of Finance, the concept of a hedge fund manager's right to discuss their business freely without risk of penalty or censorship. On November 1, 2007, Timothy unveiled TIM, or Transparent Investment Management, announcing he will go back to his $12,415 roots and repeat the feat of turning this sum into $1.65 million. This time around, Timothy will detail all his investments and his investment process on TimothySykes.com, becoming the first hedge fund manager to detail their strategies for all to see.

He recently debuted as a keynote speaker alongside industry legends Steve Nison and Larry McMillan and has spoken to audiences ranging from college students and options traders to private and institutional investors. He starred in the hit television documentary, Wall Street Warriors on MOJO, which has aired in excess of 1,000 times since its premiere in October 2006. He now writes for EQUITIES Magazine, AOL, MSN Money and TheStreet.com and has been featured in Reuters,CNN, CNBC, Businessweek, Marketwatch, FOX News, MSN Money, Yahoo! Finance, Oprah and Friends Radio, WallSt.net, Forbes.com, Hedgefund.net, Hedgeco.net, Institutional Investor, Page Six, Gawker, Dealbreaker, Salon.com, The Kirk Report, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, The New York Times, The New York Observer, Trader Monthly, Realhoboken.com, Dealbook, Alternative Universe and Absolute Return Magazine.